Inside the dark passage, Fang Mu opened a section of stone wall and stepped into the true Earth Prison.
The Earth Prison's structure was much like that of the Mortal Character Prison.
As he walked straight ahead along the bluestone-paved path, Fang Mu discovered that there were many empty cells inside the Earth Prison.
When he opened one of the empty cells, he found that it smelled awful.
Through his Dark Eyes, he could see blobs of black energy drifting and gathering in the air.
They were clearly Demonic Energy left behind by demons, or gases such as poisonous and baleful energy.
Fang Mu did not step into the cell. He had no desire to become tainted by those gases.
After leaving the cell, he continued along the bluestone path.
After passing more than a dozen underground cells, Fang Mu heard a roar and a howl.
The sound resembled a tiger's roar and was extremely ferocious. It came from Underground Cell Twenty-Six.
"Twenty-six? Could they have locked up a huge tiger?" Fang Mu was somewhat suspicious, but he did not open the door to investigate.
He sensed a powerful aura from Underground Cell Twenty-Six. The aura was so strong that even he felt deeply wary of it.
The black stone walls of the Earth Prison were wondrous. From outside the walls, one could sense a trace of the aura inside, but those inside could not sense the outside world.
After walking through the entire Earth Prison, Fang Mu found that there were only a few demons imprisoned in the cells—just three or four at most.
At the end of the Earth Prison stood a special-grade cell. Whatever demon was imprisoned there had made no sound at all.
Fang Mu strongly suspected that Huihai had come for the special-grade cell in the Earth Prison.
Without opening it rashly, Fang Mu used his identity token to open Underground Cell Thirty-Seven.
Amid the rumbling transmitted through the stone wall, the prison gate slowly opened on its own.
After entering through the gate, Fang Mu discovered that the inner door of this Earth Prison had several layers, but all of them used the same identity token as a key.
Only after opening a full nine inner doors did Fang Mu enter the spacious inner cell of the Earth Prison.
The cell held a Tree Demon that had long since dried and shriveled. Its aura was nearly nonexistent, and its entire body was bound to a black boulder with refined-iron chains.
This Underground Cell Thirty-Seven was the weakest demon Fang Mu had selected after sensing the entire Earth Prison.
He slowly approached the Tree Demon and looked at its human-shaped body, which was covered in withered vines and bore wrinkled facial features.
Swordlight flashed. The Golden Sword Fang Mu had quietly drawn sliced through the Tree Demon's body in a single stroke.
"Roar!"
At the same time, the Tree Demon, which had been on its last breath, suddenly opened its eyes. Madness gleamed in its scarlet pupils.
Countless vines wrapped toward Fang Mu. He retreated swiftly, swinging his sword and severing them one by one.
Amid several unwilling howls and shrieks, the demon finally lost all signs of life.
Without approaching the Tree Demon rashly, Fang Mu activated the Demon Refining Mirror and refined it.
After a beam of golden light enveloped the Tree Demon and refined it into bloodwater,
countless scenes flashed through the Tree Demon's fragmented memories.
A small tree weathered the wind and rain as it grew vigorously beneath the shelter and protection of a mother tree.
When the sapling had gradually grown, a group of people came one day to cut down the trees, chopping it and its mother tree in half.
After the mother tree passed its final essence of life to the sapling, it withered and died.
Unwilling to die, the sapling desperately drove its roots into the earth. After absorbing the mother tree's life essence, it survived.
Under the resentful will born of its refusal to die, darkness enveloped it. When dawn rose on a new day, the sapling gained power.
It became a Tree Demon. It no longer needed to put down roots and absorb water and nutrients to survive.
Through endless slaughter, the Tree Demon came to love blood and gradually lost its sense of self.
Its sole remaining thought was to devour, suck blood, and destroy every living being it could see.
One bloody massacre after another dyed villages and towns red, eventually alarming the Demon Extermination Division. Countless experts surrounded it and hunted it down.
From the Tree Demon's memories, Fang Mu saw a sword-wielding man descend through the air. With a casual stroke of his sword, he pierced the demon's heart and captured it.
The sword-wielding man was likely Qi Zhu's father, Ye Tian, the strongest expert in Qingzhu County and also a top expert of the Innate Realm.
The Demon Vine was a vine refined from the Tree Demon's true body. It could bind, entangle, and paralyze its targets, while its defining trait was its toughness.
The advanced Essence Pill had been obtained by refining the Tree Demon. It could nourish the meridians and increase one's cultivation.
Fang Mu returned to his senses from the Tree Demon's fragmented memories. Looking at the extremely soft vine and the pill that had appeared in his hand, he could not help feeling delighted.
After refining the Demon Vine and acknowledging it as his master with his blood, Fang Mu tried controlling it. He found that he could wield it as easily as his own arm.
The Demon Vine could not only change size at will, but also attack under his mental control or instantly coil around a designated target.
After storing the Demon Vine in the Demon Refining Mirror, Fang Mu looked at the perfectly round pill in his hand and felt that his sixth-grade cultivation was still not secure enough.
His clone already possessed the strength and cultivation of the Third-Rank Realm. His main body should break through as well. That way, if he encountered danger, he would at least have the strength to protect himself.
The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, transforming into streams of pure Vital Energy that merged into the thin Vital Energy in his dantian, strengthening and purifying it.
Stream after stream of pure Vital Energy gradually transformed into a sea of Vital Energy mist, filling Fang Mu's dantian.
As powerful auras spread, Fang Mu's cultivation broke through naturally to the fifth grade of the Martial Realm.
But the medicinal power of the pure Vital Energy had not yet dissipated. It continued flowing into his dantian, seemingly intent on pushing his cultivation even higher.
However, Fang Mu merged the remaining medicinal power into his body, further strengthening and nourishing his physical form.
The fifth-grade cultivation of the Martial Realm was already enough to protect himself. His strongest trump card was still his physical body.
Breaking through too many realms would not only bring harm without benefit, but also attract attention and suspicion from many people. It would be a poor bargain.
After his physical body had completely absorbed the remaining medicinal power, Fang Mu felt the strength filling his body and could not resist throwing a set of self-created punches inside the cell.
The wind of his fists howled with the might of a tiger. Fang Mu believed that even an expert of the Third-Rank Realm would probably be unable to withstand a blow from him.
He gathered the vines he had sliced off earlier and tied them around the refined-iron chains.
Fang Mu did not intend to report the Tree Demon's death yet. Since he was the only person in the Earth Prison, he could simply report it later.
After leaving the cell, Fang Mu did not head to the special-grade cell. Instead, he left directly.
When he arrived at the Seven-Star Cell of the Mortal Prison, he unexpectedly encountered Huihai and his clone.
"Amitabha! Envoy Fang, what a coincidence. I came here for a stroll and didn't expect to run into you."
"Coincidence my ass!"
Fang Mu cursed inwardly. He knew that the old schemer Huihai had actually been hiding nearby for a long time, harboring ulterior motives.
But he remained calm, revealing a faint smile as he said, "It really is a coincidence. May I ask how many levels the Master has purified today?"
"I am ashamed, ashamed. Today I only reached the third star zone of the Earth Prison."
"Holy crap! That fast?" Hearing Huihai's words, Fang Mu could not help grumbling inwardly.
"Master, it is getting late. You should return and rest early."
"I am somewhat tired. Actually, I have been waiting here specifically for Envoy Fang."
As soon as Huihai finished speaking, Fang Mu immediately grew wary. Could this old bastard be planning to attack me directly?
"Envoy, don't misunderstand. I have discovered a promising seed with an affinity for Buddhism. I wish to ask you for a favor and have you take him to the Earth Prison to study."
"I heard that an old monk is imprisoned in the Earth Prison. Although he abandoned the Buddhist Sect, his Buddhist cultivation is profound."
"If my disciple can win his regard and obtain some of his Buddhist techniques, he will benefit immensely."
"Aren't you afraid that this Demon Slayer Envoy will be deceived by that old monk and follow him in leaving the sect and betraying the Way?"
"Don't worry. With this humble monk here, Yuan Fan will not fall into the demonic path. I hope Envoy Fang will grant this favor."
Looking at Huihai's extremely sincere attitude, Fang Mu could not help frowning.
He deliberately led the questioning, asking, "Master, why don't you enter the Earth Prison with us? That way, you can protect Brother Yuan Fan."
"Thank you for your kindness, Envoy Fang. The Earth Prison holds important criminals, and my identity is rather sensitive. It would be inconvenient for me to enter."
"You are a Buddhist Sect eminent monk. There should be no problem with your entering the Earth Prison. As it happens, I encountered the Chief Envoy inside."
"He has been cultivating in seclusion in the Earth Prison lately. If you go there, Master, you should be able to meet him."
When Fang Mu finished speaking, Huihai's cheek twitched, and he was secretly startled.
Although he did not know whether Fang Mu's words were true, Huihai was most wary of that powerful Chief Envoy.
Until he understood the truth, he naturally did not dare enter the Earth Prison rashly.
"Envoy Fang, I appreciate your kindness. The Chief Envoy is burdened with affairs from dawn to dusk and is currently cultivating to break through. Naturally, I should not disturb him."
"These are several pills that can improve cultivation. I shall give them to you. I hope you can look after Yuan Fan a little more."
"Master, you are too kind. Yuan Fan can follow me during this period. I guarantee his safety."
"Amitabha! Then I shall trouble you, Envoy. I noticed that your cultivation seems to have broken through today. Please accept this pill for stabilizing your cultivation."
"Thank you, Master."
Watching Huihai chant a long Buddhist invocation before taking his leave, Fang Mu sneered inwardly.
His tactic of striking the mountain to frighten the tiger should have intimidated Huihai. Until he investigated the truth, Huihai probably would not enter the Earth Prison.
As long as Huihai did not enter the Earth Prison, he probably would not risk attacking Fang Mu in the Mortal Character Prison. Thus, Fang Mu would be safe for the time being.
Huihai's spiritual perception and divine sense seemed extremely powerful as well. Fang Mu had suppressed his cultivation aura as much as possible, yet Huihai had still detected his breakthrough.
Fang Mu collected his thoughts, examined his clone's memories, and then left the Mortal Character Prison with a thoughtful look.
His clone returned to his residence, while he left the County Office.
Before leaving the County Office, however, Fang Mu crushed all the pills the old schemer Huihai had given him and left them in some remote corner of the County Office.
The streets outside the County Office were pitch-black. The howls that occasionally rang out in the distance made Fang Mu frown slightly.
Those roars and howls should have come from demons hiding beyond the Divine Wall. It seemed that the area outside the city was not peaceful at night either.
Fortunately, he had not encountered any powerful demons on the road during his two previous trips out of the city.
Collecting his thoughts, Fang Mu hurried home, somewhat worried about Fang Jing's safety.
As he passed through an alley in the Slums, he suddenly sensed two gazes watching him from the shadows.
One of those gazes was extremely well concealed. If not for Fang Mu's keen divine-sense perception, he definitely would have found it difficult to detect.
But he made no move. Remaining vigilant, he continued toward home without revealing anything.
After Fang Mu left, two figures appeared in a dark corner.
"Dad! Why have you suddenly taken an interest in this kid?"
"Hmph! Don't underestimate this kid. He went from being an ordinary Demon Slayer Envoy to a Demon Slayer Chief Envoy, and although you played a part in that,"
"think about it—he has slain so many demons, yet he has not died suddenly to this day, and there are no signs of demonization in his aura."
"His cultivation has now broken through to the fifth grade of the Martial Realm. You are only at the fourth grade. He is already capable of threatening you."
"One who plays with snakes is liable to be bitten. This kid has quite a few secrets. Find a mission and take him out of the city."
"Dad! You mean..."
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